'Detainment': Mother of murdered child 'disgusted' by film's Oscar nomination

The mother of James Bulger, the child whose 1993 murder is the subject of the film “Detainment,” spoke out Tuesday after the movie earned an Oscar nomination for best live-action short film.

Bulger, who lived in the U.K., was 2 years old when he was kidnapped and killed by two 10-year-old boys. "Detainment" follows the police interrogation of the suspected murderers.

Bulger's mother Denise Fergus condemned "Detainment" in a Twitter statement, writing that she felt "disgusted and upset" and has been forced to relive the murder of her son over again.

"It’s one thing making a film like this without contacting or getting permission from James' family but another to have a child re-enact the final hours of James’s life before he was brutally murdered, and making myself and my family have to relive this all over again!” she wrote. 

“I’m so angry and upset at this present time. I personally want to thank everyone that has signed the petition up to now and hopefully will carry on supporting me in this. I just hope the film doesn’t win its category in the Oscars," she continued."

Fergus made similar comments in an interview with the U.K.'s "This Morning" on Thursday, saying the film's release has forced her to continuously relive the ordeal.

"I've tried to put it behind me for all these years, and I've done my best to be James' voice," she said. "But something like this, it just took me right back. To see (the image in the film) of James being led to his death by the two boys, and to see it again played by actors, and especially the one playing James, I just can't get over why (the filmmakers) have done it."

Vincent Lambe, the writer and producer of "Detainment," previously shared a statement on Twitter apologizing to Bulger's family while still defending his film.

"'Detainment,' the short film I directed is based on interview transcripts and records and it is entirely factual with no embellishments whatsoever," he wrote. "It was never intended to bring any anguish to the family of James Bulger, but rather to examine why children commit serious crimes... I have enormous sympathy for the Bulger family and I am extremely sorry for any upset the film may have caused them. With hindsight, I am sorry I did not make (Fergus) aware of the film."

Oscar nominations: See the full list of nominees